The last thing I needed during this global pandemic was for the owner of our Melbourne rental home to sell up. In the rollercoaster weeks that followed, I was juggling — and balls were falling. But this crisis ended up having a pretty big silver lining.
(To read a transcript of this comic, jump to here.)
The laws referred to in this comic are relevant to Victoria.
Tenancy support in your state or territory:
Dr Darren C Fisher is a lecturer in film and animation at Swinburne University of Technology. He was one of the ABC Top 5 humanities researchers for 2019. You can see more of his work on his website.
Transcript:
Tuesday March 24: The beginning of it all. On my first day of teaching. I'm a bit tense; online teaching is new territory, added to a deepening awareness of the seriousness of this coronavirus.
A phone rings. A brief discussion. "Hey Darren, the owner is selling our house."
Wednesday March 25: Meeting the sales agent. He is sweet, and polite, and cold, so we let him in. He films a video tour inside and promises to work with us in this "not ideal" time. An inspection is booked for the weekend.
Thursday March 26: Calls and demands. "Hello Bill." (He's the property manager.) "They want gardeners to come here. Professional photographer. Now cleaners!" Dusting ... deadly virus ... maybe it's worth it. 9:00am. We make calls to negotiate common ground and to minimise people coming through the house. Little did we know, we were heading towards the newly-discovered state of ...
Friday March 27: Negotiation breakdown. 5:00pm. "You've been sent a notice to vacate. At the end of the day, the owner's mind is made. End of story." We are going around in circles. "Goodbye, have a good weekend. Try to behave like a human!"
The next hour is frantic calls to agents. Everyone plays innocent. Not one of them knows anything. It is impossible to speak with the owner to clear the story. An agent lies blatantly about a discussion we'd had. We are in shock and disbelief. Our lives had flipped in the space of one week. We had to leave. But with a global pandemic — could we? To our surprise, two hours later we emerge with a plan.
The Good Weekend: Realestate.com and Tenants' Rights. Late night drives to check out streets and 'vibe'. Lots of cuddles. Lots of talking. Monday kommt.
Monday March 30: Breakfast and blackmail. It starts out OK. The property manager calls.
Him: "I had just wanted to give you a call ... had a few conversations with the owner ... gotten him to the point where he said if we can work together, he's willing to hold off on the eviction."
Us: "We were under the impression that we were working together, and talking about how this can work."
Him: "So if we can get access to the property, photos and tenants to tidy up, he's happy to hold off."
Us: "Look, because of the issues we've had with communication, we'd prefer to do things by email. We'll just need to get everything you just said in writing. Thanks! It's super much appreciated that you've gone back and had the conversation. You gave the impression as real estate agents that you were willing to talk about our rights and concerns about health impacts in this situation."
Him: "Yep, I understand. OK, I'll get back to you. Thank you guys, talk soon*."
*We never hear from him again.
Tuesday March 31: A team of gardeners descend with whipper snippers and leafblowers. They are here for exactly the time I'm teaching and asked not to be disturbed. The long grass populated with insects is now gone. Most of the small plants we put in have been hacked down or buried in mulch. A shredded plastic flower pot is strewn over the remains. We take a late night drive, check out a promising unit. We recharge and prepare for whatever's next.
Wednesday April 1: Fun facts for fools! Did you know the most recent and relevant legislation (in my state of Victoria) is the Residential Tenancies Act of 1997? There is somewhere between zero and SFA to cover the lockdown.
You must accept private inspections if proper notice is given, but can voice concerns and offer a virtual tour instead (*this may see you issued a Notice to Vacate.) You can refuse a photographer entry. You have the right to the quiet enjoyment of your home.
Are there legal ways to avoid eviction during lockdown? Just because you receive a Notice to Vacate, you don't have to move out. The landlord must apply to VCAT and gain a possession order, and you can also postpone the purchase of a warrant.
Thursday April 2: We're stepping up our efforts. The law as it is can't help us. We call, email, leave messages. Everyone from local councillors to federal Members of Parliament. A local politician is sympathetic and outraged for us. We speak for 10 minutes. He has the idea to get a letter of support from the doctor.
During all this I'm still working full-time and adjusting to online teaching. The students are an inspiration in their good spirits and resilience. I am stressing though. Chain smoking. Not sleeping or eating properly. There's a constant weight in my chest and throat. I'm juggling, and balls are falling. The experience is revealing reserves of strength we hadn't needed before, but it's draining. I feel we are making progress. We are almost through it all.
Friday April 3: Three house inspections with an agent in trackies. He seems nice, but we have our guard up. The whole situation has made us keen to get out of renting. A mortgage broker, Jodie, is another member of Team Darren and Jutta.
Saturday April 4: We have a new property manager. "Now don't get emotional about this." Yes, she said that. The doctor's letter saves the day. No-one tries pushing their way in. We smile and wave.
Our first offer to buy is too low, but it starts a process. We have entered 'the game'.
Saturday April 5: "Hey mate, bit of a long shot, but do you know any builders or chippies?" "Sure thing Daz." "Hi Matt, I think Cozzie told you about me?"
Monday April 6: "Hi, Matt right?" I've never met him before, yet he's taken his morning to help us with a building inspection. With calculated knowing he touches. He feels. Understands. He's the house whisperer. Every part of it an open book. The house confesses its secrets. He leaves us informed. Reassured. Some people restore your faith. "Alright, let's go buy that house."
Later that day: the offer exit plan. "Go higher with your bid! An unconditional offer is favourable! And watch his facial expressions, very important!" At the real estate office.
"Stuart! Didn't dress up for us?"
"Bit rough today, good day for trackies!"
"Should we talk about the offer? We're prepared to offer (insert ridiculous sum of money here)...
"OK, that's something we can work with. Few other interested parties. We'll present the offers tomorrow."
We sign many different forms. No idea what most of it means. At the end we make small talk about bikes. And just like that, it's done. Now we wait. "This is surreal."
May 20: Closing thoughts. It's hard to believe that it's been less than two months since we found out our rental was being sold. Since then we've steeled ourselves against callous property managers and aggressive real estate agents, and had to look for, organise, buy and move into a house. I wouldn't want to live in that state of stress and uncertainty for too long.
If you or anyone you know needs help:
We've learned a lot about tenancy rights, which is a fast changing landscape. We've found that real estate agents, in our experience, will not be the ones to inform you of your rights. We have managed to come out well, using the situation as motivation to finally pull the trigger on a mortgage. In a weird way, everything actually went kind of smoothly for us. But it could have gone differently. Worse.
We've escaped the rental trap. It's totally worth it — if you can afford it. We've reclaimed our agency, and freedom from landlords. But what happens to those people who have no choice but to rent? This is just our story, complete with inciting incident and a happy ending. Many of these stories end in homelessness, suicide and hardship. "Make sure you put a link to Tenants Victoria. They have helped us a lot. Now come on, we have more unpacking to do!" Oh man...
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTI3L2NvbWljLW9uLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXJlbnRhbC1jcmlzaXMtaG9tZS1vd25lcnNoaXAvMTIyNjg2MjLSASZodHRwOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjI2ODYyMg?oc=5
2020-05-26 21:43:08Z
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